Apple’s CarPlay System Coming To Dashboards Everywhere This Year

As expected, Apple today announced that it is finally ready to launch its “iOS in the Car” iPhone integration setup for car infotainment systems.

Called CarPlay, Apple claims that it is “designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car.”

CarPlay is built primarily around Siri interactions, with voice commands and prompts giving users an “eyes-free” means of responding to incoming calls, dictating text messages, and accessing their music library. Apple’s Maps service is also an integral part of the system.

The first cars to support CarPlay will debut at the Geneva Motor Show this week, and will come from automakers Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo — shortly followed by Nissan, Peugeot, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, General Motors, and other big names. The first vehicles to include the system are expected to ship later this year.

CarPlay functionality is set to be included as part of iOS 7 updates, although only iPhone 5 and above models of phone are supported so far due to their Lightning connectivity.

In addition to iTunes Radio, CarPlay will also provide access to other third-party music streaming apps, including Spotify, Beats Radio, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher.